Four
by Ghost Writer no. 3
Summary: If I said what the story was about, it would freakin's spoil it. It involves Sora, Riku, and Kairi and them in their twenties and them panicing about a certain situations with three of them. Sorikai


I'm doing another one! Yet again written in the same journal with the smiling faces and turkeys. I suppose you could call this a sequel to Morning after Drunk, but you do not need to read that story unless you wish too. Which I really encouraged. This story, however, is told in more then one viewpoint. LOOK AT THAT! I think I'll put up a chapter or a story for ever chapter in my big one, _Leveling up Pains_.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Musical Atlantica exists, doesn't it?

* * *

Maybe time could be better spent on doing something more creative and productive then sitting on the coach and blasting away digital zombies. Sora and Riku knew this, but after a hard day's work (plus school in Sora's case), this served to be a safer and much more entertain release.

"Blast the head!""

"I got it, I got it!"

It all gave out to be a source of pointless entertainment even though they sometimes acted like it was a matter of life and death, but they still noticed their surroundings. Like the sun obscured by hazy clouding threatened dreariness, but no rain. Or a car stereo turned up too loud traveling down the street. And a Kairi, the full student extraordinaire, walking into the apartment without her usually hello and finishing with a slamming of the bedroom door.

Even the game went silence before Riku glared at Sora, "What did you do?"

At the instant he received the potential threat, Sora held him his hands up in surrender, controller and all, "I didn't do it! I swear!" A pause. "Well…"

"What?" Oh no, thought Riku, they were both going to get it.

"I mixed your lunches up this morning. She doesn't like ham." Riku gaped at the other male. He kept forgetting how…slow Sora can be. It also explained why Riku had fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt with an additional pieces of fruit and a diet soda. Not the first time such mistakes happened, but Sora tried. "I doubt she's going to storm into the house just because you gave her ham." Riku kept his face matter-of-fact but the grin still threatened to appear.

"Well, then what?" Sora glared at the door as if it was the problem. Riku really did hate that door closed. But he always had the better control and foresight. Sometime people needed their space. Kairi deserved it and it was easier to deal with. Now a crying Kairi felt impossible to master.

Oh no…Riku could hear the sharp sobs and it made him hurt in a way no blade could hit. Sora's crying was simple to deal with: Wait a bit until the emotions ran dry, give him a

hug or a cookie, sit by him until he perked up and he would forget any sadness. Kairi, and females in general, cried for so many different reason. Even over cute cards or a burnt pop-tart. What the hell was with that?

He looked at Sora, whom appeared to just hear the sounds. The younger boy's mouth pulled tighter but his shoulders shifted as if saying, 'What was he suppose to do?'

Riku sighed, paused their game and grabbed one of those shrugging parts. "Come on, better try and fix this," whatever it was.

"Maybe it's that time of the month?" Sora slipped. Riku ignored the comment and favored to slide the door open.

Kairi hugged a pillow to her chest, sniffing and sobbing quietly. It was plain to see she did not noticed them appearing in the room. Her eyes focused in her own little world. Riku paused and stepped back out of the room to turn to Sora. He shrugged yet again. No answer from him either. Riku really hopped it really did have nothing to do with lunch.

Sora took the first step to the answer for them, "Kairi?" She turned. From the look she had, they were not suppose to be here; intruders. "Is something the matter?"

She shook her head and looked down at her hands. "No…just thinking about something." A truth, but a broad one. Kairi had a way of becoming reserved when she should not. It was a trait Riku hated seeing in her because it reminded him of when he tired to get away with fading in the shadows.

He would put a stop to that. "Did something happen?" Concern washed over him and maybe just a tint of aggression. When they were all younger, he was not only the leader, but the guardian; especially with the girls. Whether it was something he learned or just something he observed and kept to heart or even something born in him because he was the Keyblade Master; protector of worlds and maidens, if anyone outside their group picked on Kairi or made Selphie cry, they would suffer his wrath. It still applied today.

Kairi smiled but a gloom hung to it. "No…but, um…I'm late…"

Silence as she looked around at the confusion. "You mean for class?" Sora asked.

"Noo…I'm late." She emphasized and gave Riku a you-better-know-what-I-mean-because-I-don't-wanna-explain-it.

Oh he got it, "Oh…you're…late." He gripped the doorway. Okay, that.

"Is she late for a study session?" Sora looked as confused as how much Riku wanted to hit him for that statement. Kairi huffed and looked less hurt and now annoyed. "What?!" Sora asked in defense.

Riku pulled him closer and whispered something he dare not explain out loud for shame of embarrassment. Sora nodded for the first moments, then paled, "YOUR PREGANT?!"

His scream trigged Kairi to start to cry again while Riku rolled his eyes and yanked on Sora a little. "She might be. Might be…oh please stop crying, Kairi…" Riku's please were only half answered as the girl nodded but continued to sniffle.

"Aw, I didn't mean it like…that. Just…" His arms rose a little as he looked around, "How'd that happen?"

Riku swore his hand slapped on its own, like a reaction. Perfectly aimed directly on the back of the head. He swore the actually thinking of the slap came to him only after. In any case, Sora rubbed the sore spot and gave his boyfriend a glower. Riku ignored it and his act of violence by taking a deep breath, "Sora, please tell me you know the birds and the bees…" He really hoped after all this time Sora knew. Because if he did not, this was the only touch subject Riku would not slowly and carefully explain. He would walk out of the room and let Kairi deal with it.

"I know it!" Oh thank you. "I mean…like…How?"

Riku sighed. Maybe he should just walk out the door less give him a reason to further injure the rest of the dolt's brain cells. "Sora, it's not like we were careful. We haven't _been_ careful since we moved in together. And even then, we only _were_ careful until I check for any risk. After that…" Fun times.

"But…I didn't think…" Sora looked down a little shamefully. Riku made no other comment. He understood: After nearly four years of nothing happening…false security and all settled in.

"Riku…do we have anything from last time?" Kairi stopped panicking and looked at the older one.

Riku blinked, and then shrugged. "They might have expired. I don't know." Not like Riku knew where they were anyways. Probably under a sink. He never checked for an expiration date, either.

"Can you…go pick up some?" Kairi sounded devastated. They all looked scared. "Can you take Sora? I'm…I want to think."

Riku nodded. "Sure sweetie." He gave the girl a kiss on the forehead. Then grabbed a still confuddled Sora and headed out.

* * *

Usually Sora thought those twenty-four hour drug stores were a waste of space and time. Who goes to buy stuff at two in the morning? He felt pretty grateful for it now. Though it was not two o'clock in the morning, but that was not the point. The point was it was small, convenient, and not many people around. Still looked ugly. Clean, but ugly.

"What are we buying?" Serious, Sora though, what did they need?

"Pregnancy Test." Riku mumble.

"Oh." That made sense. Kairi could be pregnant. Not a yes or no. But maybe. Could there be a bundle of joy in their future running around? It may not be too terrible. They were all twenty three. Or close enough: Riku was twenty-four. They wouldn't be the first their age to do it. They could raise a kid. Still, it felt scary.

Both stepped through the doorway. Riku looked around for what they needed. Sora looked around.

He realized he was a little hungry. Maybe he should get a snack. Oh, Kairi too! She could be pregnant, so that meant she would be eating for two. Could mothers eat corn chips? Probably, but what about flavored corn chips? That would be okay…maybe. Maybe not. Not the heavily spicy ones. He knew no popcorn. Okay, popcorn was possibly okay but no contact with the bag. They give you cancer. He saw it on the news. Some guy got it. He wondered if just popcorn to do that. Either way, maybe no popcorn.

This made him feel more hunger. A sandwich sounded good right now.

"It's down here." Riku guided Sora through an aisle. There appeared to be diapers and other baby-related items on one side and the other side had dog and cat food and other pet-related items. Kind of funny. Then again, a lot of people treated their animals like children.

Maybe they should get a dog. Or a cat. Kairi wanted a dog. Riku wanted a cat. Sora would like both. Actually, he wanted a ferret, but he was told no. If they were to get both a cat and a dog, they would need to get them as kitten and puppy. Just so the grown dog would not eat the grown cat. That way, the kid would have the best of both worlds.

No pets right now. They could not have any where they live. Besides, didn't kitty litter cause health problems or birth defects. Bad for Kairi and the baby.

Sora gazed at the little boxes at the end of the aisle. Who knew there were so many different kinds of test? "Which one do we want?"

Riku paused and shrugged. "Well, some of these read different hormones or something like that." He grabbed one of the boxes. "These worked before." This made Sora frowned. That was the second time he heard something like that. There was not time before. Yet, maybe he was wrong. He lost a year before. It was strange that piece of history would never resonant in the castle. Though that event he could explain. If he randomly lost time right now, that would be a bad for him. Sudden memory loss proved something wrong in his head. He should get a health exam. Kairi would have to do one, right?

They were in the cash line. Riku looked calm, but Sora could see under the exterior. Something only those who know Riku could see: The slight tightness of the lips, narrowing of the eyes, and straining (more then usual) of the shoulder. The hair was the final clue: It hung lower then normal to give shadows around his forehead. From these hints, Sora could view how nervous Riku looked.

Sora could understand. _He_ felt nervous. A kid. They were having a kid. Maybe. Not sure yet. But…a baby. Like, a little thing that needed to be held and screamed and feed by hand. Oh, and the questions. His mom wanted some grandchildren. Yet biologically…it might be Riku's. Sora had no problem with it. Riku's kids would be his kids as far as the three of them were concerned. The subject of blood legitimacy…they all talked about it and agreed to how they would be raised. It had been three years, though. A while. Though if he brought back home a little white-hair, green-eyed baby to his mother…she might not be read for it to call her grandmother. Though maybe not: She considered Riku a second son. Her only stipulation was Kairi better stay around to take care of them and bring her back some babies.

Oh wooh…Kairi's parents! Wow, that would be something else. They all knew of their children's' arrangement. They figured she would choose one of them. With a kid and a way to tell paternity, they might feel it would be healthy for the child to have only the biologically father.

He wondered if three people raising a baby would be healthy. A village raised a child. Single parents with or without help of relatives raised kids all the time. Would their potential baby have problems?

The cashier gave a queer look to the men. Riku gave a rather menacing glare back: A challenge. Sora rolled his eyes.

When it was check and cashed, Sora grabbed the box, gave a cheerful smile and said, "Have a nice day!" making sure to catch Riku's eye to distract him. He shook the box for good effect. Riku backed down but still had to be dragged out by Sora. Frankly, Sora did not wish to get in trouble because Riku could not hold his temper. What they needed to do was go home to their worried wife!

--

A silence settled between them as they walked. Sora fiddle with the box while Riku stared ahead to home. The younger started to skim the box and asked, "What happens if it's wrong?"

"There usually ninety-nine point nine percent accurate. They are suppose to be one-hundred percent, but they cannot list it as perfect because if the test is wrong, they can be sued. But unless they are old or tampered with, they'll work. It's like when Litmus paper changes based on an acid or a base: A chemical reaction." The response sounded automatic.

"How do you know?" He really wanted to know.

A flinch and a slight hesitation in the step. "Because." It was certainly not the answer Sora wanted.

"Yah, but you said you used these before." He accused Riku. He maybe be wrong. But nope; Riku eyes changed to look away from Sora. He knew he was right.

Riku shook his head. "I didn't mean-"

Sora cut him off, "And Kairi mentioned something about it." He felt a little out of the loop. It was not the first time: Riku and Kairi liked to read a lot and often discussed books. It never bugged Sora too much; written words never appealed to him as much as the other two. But that was okay; him and Riku had competitions that Kairi thought were a bit silly while Sora and her had cook that Riku only helped to clean off the plate. It was all about taste and preference. But this was something bigger. Something he was a part of. Sora always liked attention especially the center of it. So when he was not, "I'm not being include…"

Riku sighed and replied, "Look…one time while you were gone to Radiant Garden, I came back before you: I gone done with my task in Twilight Town." He waved his hands a little. "When I came back, Kairi thought she might be pregnant and she needed to know because of school and…other things. So…I picked up these."

"And?"

"She wasn't pregnant. The test confirmed it." Riku stopped looking anise.

Sora should have left it there. But Sora, being Sora, did not see it quite final. "But…what if it was wrong?"

The older man literally took his eyes off his direction and gave his male companion a 'You have to be kidding me' look. "Sora, we used half of the box in a few days…like, every time Kairi needed to use the bathroom."

"But what if the box was faulty?"

Now Riku gave him a 'Are you serious?' look. "Is there a child running around that you noticed but I didn't?"

"Nooo…" Now he felt stupid.

"Besides…she…she started her…" Riku actually looked embarrassed about whatever he was going to say next. It could be about- "Ladies' days…after her second test." Judging by the tone and how disturbed the sea-eyed man look, it was time to stop asking questions.

* * *

Sora and Riku stood outside the building, both a little shock and not quiet ready to face the day.

"We can afford a baby, right?" Sora asked.

"Oh…oh yah. Money won't be a problem," a chuckle, "Hell, we have enough saving for retirement for the rest of our lives probably."

A pause and a deep breath before Sora asked yet another question, "What about baby-sitting?"

Riku appeared to be thinking about this one, before he answered, "Well, not all of us have to go at one time to anywhere…and I know your mom is ready to have another kid to take care of. His Majegity hinted enough that him and Her Majesty would like to hold a little one." He looked up in the sky, "I may or may not have promised him a god-child."

"Yah, Yuffie mentioned how a little red-head with spiky hair would be 'simply the cuteness thing ever.'" Sora did the quotations mark and the mimicking of Yuffie's tone before an evil grin slid on, "Or a silver-haired, blue eyed newborn."

A chuckle. "Yah…Thankful for the support. No one that matters has yet to disown us…"

The next pause.

"So…" Sora stared a Riku curiously. "Who do you think it is?"

"What?"

"Like, the dad."

"Oh my god..." The palm hit against the forehead and brushed against light bangs, "We talked about this. We agreed if there were any kids, they would be raised considering us both as fathers." He broke his eyes away from the future direction and turned his back to gaze almost shyly at his counter-part, "Unless, you don't want-"

"No!" A loud and large objection and a grab for a hand. "I didn't mean it like that, Riku. I meant, you know, how it will look."

"Oh."

Yet another pause.

"Maybe it'll it look like Kairi?"

"Yah…" Then Sora turned up at the building. "We left Kairi alone." The two looked at each other and practically burnt their sneakers trying to race up the steps.

--

It was true Kairi was freaking out somewhere in the living room or in the bathroom or on the bed or even in the bathroom if she decided to. Seeing a toilet made her need to use the facility sometimes. She also drank a cup of water ever ten minutes. She would do this until she felt the need to use the potty. She already got through three cups. Kairi set down her fourth drink.

Her thoughts raced. She thought about raising a baby. Then there was child bearing, hospital visits, what would happen if they went on mission, if someone died, if they all died or worst, and she still had school and was it really fine?

But…she wanted a baby. A maternal instinct or an early biological clock or just because she though babies were adorable made her pray to be pregnant. Maybe not want/want, but if she was indeed carrying one, that possibility was not as frightening as it could have been a couple years ago. One or two children would be nice. Maybe a little girl. Oh, a boy would be nice, but she wanted a girl first. Maybe with Riku's hair. Yes, that hair would be pretty on a girl. Oh, but little spikes with bows tied into ever little peak would be…cute.

Dealing with her parents would be the hard part. They were set on her choosing one of her boys. They could hardly complain it affect her grades and coincidently effecting her future life: She graduated valedictorian and kept a GPA above 3.7. But they figured whomever fathered any children would take her to a home and get married.

But she would never choose. Not after everything. These were the same two who whenever she had a problem asked, "Just give us a name, Kairi. We'll handle everything and make it better." It sometimes made her feel special but terrified. The two keepers of the universe and they were at her beck-and-call. It scared her.

But there were the boys comes through the door. Sora looked pretty funny holding the box. A little less embarrassing then the tampon incident.

Okay, she grabbed the box. Now to the bathroom. She still did not feel the need to void herself.

She turned at the door and looked back. Someone bumped into her. "Sora, I am not relieving myself in front of you."

"But," Kairi silently thanked Riku for pulling the other by his collar with a mumble, "Or come here, dumbass!"

She giggled a little nervously before shutting the door.

It took about five mintues for Kairi to finally get something on the piece of plastic.

She came out with the test held away from her and placed it down. She walked to them and sat between the two.

"I can't look. You do it." She pointed at the test.

"Um..Kairi."

"Yes?"

"We don't have the box."

Oh crap! "Um…keep an eye on it. I'll go grab it."

She thought she heard Sora bluntly cry out, "She peed on this, right?" She could yell at him. But no, not right now. Maybe in a little bit. Besides, it was true.

Kairi carried the box out and gave it to Riku. "I'm not looking that, either."

Her hands came around to hug herself when the carton left her grasp. It was an instinctual protection. Okay, she was ready.

It took a moment for Sora to bend over and view at the test. Riku looked at the box.

"It has a line through it." Sora commented.

Riku flinched a little. That was all the hint Kairi needed to start crying. It made her a little giddy when he said, "Yah, that's the correct one."

Oh, she would not stop bawling. There was a baby in her . Yes, that contemplation sounded rather dumb and ditzy, but it was strange just to think about it. They were parents. Will be. She needed support at the moment. She reached out for both of them. Sora responded with wrapping his arm around her shoulder, also spotting a few tears. Riku merely grabbed her hand and rubbed it, looking a little shocked and scared, but thankfully not angry or sad. Sora patted him solidly on the back.

"Yah, we can do this." Sora said with a cracking laughter. It made them all laugh. They soon settled in a mess of giggles.

"Well, guess I should give my mom the good news." Sora chuckled.

It hit Kairi all of a sudden! "I gotta, I gotta tell everyone! I have to call Selphie: She'll want to have a baby shower and invited everyone on the island! Oh, and mom will want to shop for maternity clothes. Dad had this old crib he bought and he'll want to fix that up. I use to put my dolls in it." She felt a bit of panic as her thoughts drifted pass the islands. "Oh, what about off world? I mean, we definitely need to include Donald and Goofy and King Mickey. And what about Radiant Garden? I mean, I'm from there. I think they would expect-"

"Kairi?" Sora nearly pushed her back down.

"Yes?"

"Take a deep breath."

She took the breath, then released. She was rambling. She exploded in giddy laughter. "Oh." Sora smiled back. That smile made the world right. But she noted something lacking…where was Riku? He was by the window, looking out. He look…confused? Possibly confusion mixed with something else. Kairi could not understand the body language.

* * *

"Riku?"

"Where are we going to put it?" He asked, now looking around the place.

"It's not a pet, Riku! It's a _baby_!" Sora stressed.

"I know that!" Riku scolded the other boy. "I mean…a baby makes four in a single."

Sora looked around the room. The apparent was a decent place for a few young-just-out-of-childhood-home adult to live together: One single bedroom, single bathroom, a half closet/office/spare bedroom, living room/kitchenette, with paper-thin walls. Oh, and only about a twenty by fifteen foot yard shared with a dozen other people.

Not ideal for a child.

"Riku…we decided we are happy right now. To be having a baby. Happy. No complaining right this second. We are being happy." Kairi gave him the eye.

"I'm just point out that-"

"Happy. And if you aren't being happy, so help me Riku." Yes, the gravid princess looked ready to bench the couch at him.

The older boy laughed long and hard. He came back and squeezed his way in between his girlfriend and boyfriend, lazily putting an arm on each available shoulder. He smirked. "Okay, this is me happy. Shouldn't upset you in your condition, should I?"

"I'll show you my condition." There went the pillow from his side with a giggle from Sora somewhere on the other side of the beating..


End file.
